Card shuffling mechanism



May 29, 1956 J. o. HOWARD CARD SI-IUFFLING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Oct. 24, 1950 INVENTOR. Joseph, 0, JIZwcz/d May 29, 1956 J. o.HOWARD CARD SHUFFLING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 24, 1950 WTm? M i m WW 4 2 0 m 4 M w x y 4IMIIMI I/ 0 g 0 E l g 2 Y M B 0 T T CARDSHUFFLING MECHANISM Joseph 0. Howard, Chicago, Ell. Application October24, 1950, Serial No. 191,749 2 Claims. (Cl. 273-149) This invention hasas its principal object the provision of an automatic shufflingmechanism for playing cards and the like.

Ancillary objects are: the provision of a compact, easily manufacturedand operated shufiling unit driven by a spring motor of uniquesimplicity and which is itself a subassembly unit; the provision of acard-releasing trap which is also contrived to provide a cocking orsetting means for the spring motor; the provision of a shuttling meansin the form of a horizontally travelling trap which moves from beneath aplurality of stacks of cards and releases the same to intershufllegravitatingly into a delivery chamber.

Additional objects and aspects of novelty and utility relate to detailsof the construction and operation of the embodiment describedhereinafter in view of the annexed drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the shufiler with a major portion of thecover plate for the motor unit broken away;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the shufiler showing the shufilingchambers, particularly;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the device, to reduced scale; a

Fig. 4 is a top plan view to the scale of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 1 but to reduced scale;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the shufiling trap, to reduced scale;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section looking in the direction of lines 7-7 ofFig. 1 at part of the motor unit;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section looking in the direction of lines 8-8 ofFig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 5, the shufiler includes an upright housinghaving a lower or shuttling chamber 10 surmounted by an upper orstacking chamber 11 divided (as in Fig. 4) into two compartments 11A and118 each receiving part of a split deck of cards, as in Fig. 2.

A motor unit 12 is mounted on a side wall of the housmg.

An important feature of the shufliing means is the card-releasing trap16 (Figs. 4 and 6) which is a plate slidable horizontally on oppositedown-turned integral flanges 16B (Fig. 7) riding in offset track grooves17 (Figs. 3 and 7) formed along the upper margins of the lower chamber.

The shuflling plate or trap 16 has another flange 16A which is exposed,as in Figs. 2 and 3, to serve as a handle element in moving the trapfrom the extended posi tion, shown in dotted lines in Figs. 4 and 5, tothe cocked, full-line position.

In the plan view of Fig. 6, it will be seen that the shufile plate 16has a pair of wide slots 16C extending thereacross laterally of thedirection of reciprocable travel thereof; and at the rearmost ortrailing edge of each slot is a card-releasing tongue 16D (see also Fig.7) shaped to have a diminishing area and come to a marginal edge orpoint, for reasons to appear. In the present embodi- 2,747,877 PatentedMay 29, 1956 ment, the tongues 16D are triangular and terminate in anapex point, which is the last supporting means withdrawn from beneath acard in the shuflling operation. The tongues 16D may also besemi-circular, but in any event, the trailing edge of the tongue (i. e.the apex) is turned up to give the cards a slight agitating lift beforerelease.

As viewed in Fig. 2, the upper or stacking chamber is provided with apair of inclined aprons 18 and 19 against which the cards C C of a splitpack lie in inclined position with their bottom edges supported on theshuffle plate 16 when the latter is fully pushed-in.

Struck down from the plate 16 (Figs. 2, 3, and 7) is a deflector tab iswhich directs the cards released from compartment 11A rearwardly, in themanner of the card indicated at C Fig. 2, so that they stack evenly, andfreely intershufile with other cards, 0*, from the forward compartment1113, to fall into the shuflied pack indicated at C (Fig. 2). Similarly,a tongue 13 (Figs. 2, 3, 5) is struck inwardly from the front wall ofthe lower or shuttling chamber to deflect the cards C released from theforward chamber 1113.

The shutlied pack indicated at C lies on an inclined bottom apron 14(Fig. 2) having depending lugs 14A engaged by screws 15A from the bottomplate 15.

Motor means for moving the shuttling trap 16 slowly from beneath thesplit deck includes the unit 12 removably secured to a. side of thehousing, and consisting of a channel shaped base plate 25. (Figs. 1 and8) having opposite side flanges 26A over which the side flanges of thecover 12 fit, as Fig. 8.

Mounted on the base plate, as in Figs. 1 and 7, is a gear trainconsisting of a main driven gear 22, pinion 23 (Fig. 7), timing gearsand pinions 24, 25, 26, and 27, escapement gear 23, and a weightedescapement lever 29.

A clutch ratchet gear 30 is fast with pinion 23 (see Fig. 8 also) whilegear 24 floats on the stud which mounts these clutch and pinion gears onthe base plate.

The gears of the timing train are removably held by screw nuts asindicated at 23A (Fig. 7), so that the assembly is easily taken apartfor servicing or adjustment.

Gear 24 has a pawl 24A pressed by spring 24B to engage the teeth ofratchet 30, by means of which the timing gears and escapement aremomentarily uncoupled when the driven gear rotates backwardly in settingor cocking the shuffle plate.

Attached by a pair of rivets to the main gear 22 (Fig. 1) is a drivingyoke having a tail lug 36 to which is attached one end of the mainspring 37, the opposite end of which anchors on 2. lug 38 struck up fromthe base plate.

Spring 37 thus exerts an effort upon the yoke 35, and hence main gear22, tending to produce counter-clockwise motion, and this motion istransmitted to the shuffle plate 16 by means of a stud screw 16Fthreaded into one of the flanges of the shuttle plate and working in aradial slot 35A in yoke 35.

It will now appear that by pressing the handle part 16A of the shuffleplate toward the right the yoke 35 will be turned clockwise, which willfurther tension the spring 37; and when the shufiie plate is pushedfully home to set or cocked condition, as in Fig. 1, it will be latchedby a detent 4b in a notch in plate 43 behind the yoke 35 and rivetedwith the latter to gear 22.

The detent 4% is pivoted as at 41 on the base, and has a handle tab 42projected through the cover plate.

In operating the device the shufiie plate is latched home and the packof cards is split as desired, part of the pack being deposited incompartment 11A and part in compartment 1113, as depicted in Fig. 2.

When the shuflle plate is latched home, as aforesaid,

stud screw 16F working in the slot of yoke 35 displaces the" latter'toward the right, tensioning spring 35 until detent 40 drops into thelatching notch in plate 43. During the aforesaid cocking operation, theratchet gear 31 idlesp'ast the pawl 24A, sothat the timing gears are notdriven.

With the cards to be shufiied disposed in the two upper compartments,the detent handle 42 is pressed, and spring 37 urges the main gear 22counter-clockwise, so that the shuffle plate moves slowly outwardly,toward the left, the rate being governed by the timing gears andescapement means 28-29.

As the shuffle plate moves outwardly, the tongues 16D thereinrespectively pass from beneath the two stacks of cards and the latter(Fig. 2) drop to the lower chamber in the manner indicated for the cardsat C C the cards being interspersed and shuttled as they descend towardthe apron 14 to reform the shuffied pack C The time required for ashufile is preferably about 20 seconds.

By adjusting the tilt of the aprons 18 and 19 (Fig. 2) and hence thetilt of the cards in the upper compartments, and by properly shaping andtilting the dropping or feeding tongues 16D, the cards will drop intothe lower chamber, one, two, three, and four at a time from each upperstack. This affords a desirable variable in the shuffle, and the fall ofthe cards from each stack can not be predicted in this respect, sinceskin friction, static charges, moisture conditions, flatness of thecards, and other conditions affect the cards in a variety of ways in atendency for two or more cards to cling together as they are released bythe shuffle panel.

In addition to being shuified and intermixed, the order of the cards inthe shuffled pack will always be reversed.

Changing the rate of movement of the shuffle member 16 will also affectthe tendency of the released cards to drop into each of the drop-outopenings 16C in groups of one or more cards per opening, a faster travelof the plate 16 generally causing an increase in the number of cards pergroup per drop'out opening. The 20-second rate at the feedinginclination of the edgewise disposition of the cards as shown in Fig. 2is preferred for standard card purposes.

The device is simple and easy to operate, and yields a variable mix orshufile which is wholly satisfactory for playing cards for which thedisclosed embodiment was designed. However, the mechanism is adaptableto other card-mixing usages, for which it may be desirable' to makevarious changes or adjustments, such as the tilt of the aprons, 18, 19;or the tilt or location of the deflecting means 13, or 16E; or the shapeor tilt of the shuffling or dropping tongues 16D; all such changes andother modifications being contemplated within the scope of the inventionas defined by the annexed claims.

1 claim:

1. In a card-shuttling machine including a casing having upper and lowercard chambers and a horizontal traveling card drop-out plate;improvements comprising, to wit: means mounting said plate toreciprocate between said chambers and to project to a normal startingposition beyond said casing in one direction of its travel; for manualengagement; a stud on said plate; a driving gear in said casing closelyadjoining said stud; means on said gear providing a radial slotdrivingly coupling said gear to said stud; a long helical springattached at one end to a radially extended part on said gear, andanchored at its opposite end within said casing; movement of theprojecting part of the shuffle plate inwardly of the casing from saidnormal position turning said gear to tension said spring for returningsaid gear; and escapement means for regulating the spring-driven turningof said gear to produce a slow return of the drop-out plate to saidnormal position.

2. In a card-shuffling machine, a casing having an upper stackingchamber and a lower delivery chamber and a horizontally-movablecard-releasing shuffle-trap between said chambers, said trap beingmovable to a normal position in which one end portion of the trapprojects a substantial distance beyond said casing so as to be exposedfor manual engagement to be pushed inwardly to a starting position; andgear and escapement means coacting with said trap and havingdriving-spring means tensioned by movement of the trap to said startingposition to return the trap slowly to said normal position.

References Cited in the file of this patent

